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Get Your Nap Time In, At Work : a number of datacentre workers from the upcoming London Olympics will be doing just that.

Nutrition for Young Athletes : over on the forums, Food 'n' Fitness' Anthony Paradisposted a great video looking at the basics of quality nutrition. If you're ready to clean up your own diet, take a look.

Controlling dreams : we've seen a lot of great research recently surrounding the general topic of sleep; including some pretty thought-provoking questions. Here, the BBC asks 'Can we control our dreams?' Yes, yes we can. Sort of.

The Inverted Burpee : finally, I stumbled across this exercise the other day - and it's a lot tougher than it looks. Give it a shot.

NB : to see all of these as they appear (and to share your own thoughts on things), the simplest way is to follow me on Google+. You'll see these, and a whole lot more.

Scott Andrew Bird is a writer, photographer and a guy who just loves this stuff. He's been at home in front of a computer for more years than he cares to remember (OK, 32) and is now making amends for years of many mistakes noted in the De-constructing computer guy articles (part 2) on T-Nation.

Like this? Check out :

Looking At : Apr 22, 2012
Echo Point, Blue Mountains.During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, the Forums and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Looking At : Oct 21, 2012
Echo Point, Blue Mountains.
During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, the Forums and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.
Looking At : Oct 14, 2012
Echo Point, Blue Mountains.
During the past week we've discussed a number of great links; on Google+, Twitter, the Forums and so on. Here are a few of my favourites.

NB : if you'd like to be interviewed in an upcoming discussion, we'd love to hear from you. It's great to find out how other people train.
And if you'd like to add your comments and suggestions on the Gymchats in general, you can do that here. Cheers.

ready to get fit? not quite sure where to start?

A dose of Online Personal Training is ideal. Your place, their experience.

As you'd expect, I work with a number of Fitness Professionals myself (both personally, and to research various parts of this site) - including the wonderful Josh Hewett. If you're about to begin your own strength-training journey, swing by his site at :

BioLayne's Arnold Classic Summary
A close look at Layne's training for and competition at the Arnold. Nice one.
NB : We first looked at this one in the weekly Strength & Fitness Newsletter (part of the Strength Kit). If you'd like to have it sent to you automatically (free!) each week, just add your email here.
Looking At : Mar 15, 2015

images of strength

gift buying guide

When your spouse/sibling/friend is ready to 'get in shape' (or they already are), what do you get them?

No matter what sort of training they're in to, we've got a few suggestions. And if you're looking for something specific, we'll help you find out where to get it. Just leave a comment on any of the posts listed below.

There are a number of articles that may help you in your quest. Specifically :

want to help out?

To help run all of these sites, we're on the lookout for several additional Moderators. To welcome new community members, bring up new items to discuss and generally keep the conversations on track.

If you're already spending a bit of time at any of the above sites, and would like to offer your services as a Moderator, just drop us a line. And thanks for that, it really is appreciated.

in the wild

It’s always great to see how other people train.

If you’d like to send in a photo of yourself in action (wearing one of the Straight to the Bar Shirts of course - the latest design is here), just upload it somewhere and send us a link. Cheers.

the future of fitness

Over the years we’ve looked at the fitness industry from a number of angles - discussing the history, present approaches and potential future trends involved. Fascinating areas.

When it comes to the last part - discussing potential future trends - things get a little, well, unusual. If it’s an interest you share, or you just want to find out the types of things we think are likely, check out the posts tagged ‘Futurism’. And of course, Gymchat 224 (Roundtable) - The Future of Fitness. Superb discussion.

checking out

Stubborn Fat Solution 1.1.Looks good.
As you can no doubt tell from the title, this is the updated version of Lyle McDonald's Stubborn Fat Solution. Full review shortly (I'm about to dive in to it myself), but first a few words from Lyle on the reason for the update :
In the original Stubborn Fat Solution, I briefly discussed a hormone called Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP). As I talked about, ANP represents an entirely new fat burning (lipolytic) pathway that works outside of the normal insulin/catecholamine mechanisms.
But at the time, I saw and knew of no meaningful way of manipulating or impacting the pathway and left it at that. A little while later I would find a solution and this booklet was actually started years ago; then I put it away.
Recently, in researching something else, I found that ANP appeared to be even more powerful than I had previously thought. Because in addition to stimulating fat mobilization, ANP (and the other natriuretic peptides) can also increase levels and activity of beige fat (a brown-fat like type of fat that humans actually have) along with helping to control appetite.
Lyle McDonald's Stubborn Fat Solution 1.1. Good stuff.
NB : We first looked at this one in the weekly Strength & Fitness Newsletter (part of the Strength Kit). If you'd like to have it sent to you automatically (free!) each week, just add your email here.
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If you ever wake up with that 'just run over by a truck' feeling, you need a copy of Tim Hull's Functional Correction Manual. Not only will it help you to locate and repair the problem, it'll help prevent it happening in the future.

When it comes to body transformation - whether that's an increase in strength, packing on a bit of muscle or losing a bit of excess fat - this is the perfect place to start. Dr Berardi's Precision Nutrition.

If you've ever watched a Bruce Lee film and marveled at his strength, speed, agility, endurance, flexibility or muscularity, this book should take pride of place in your collection. Unlike many other writings covering everything from Lee's training methods to nutrition, this book is based not on the recollections of people around him; but on Lee's own notes. Brilliant.

For a full list of what we're reading at the moment (training-related and otherwise), join us on Goodreads. And for a cut-down list showing only the ones we recommend, swing by the Recommended Books & DVDs page. See you there.